Why does the school seem to decide what is best for the students without asking the students for their opinions?

The Commuter Lounge is a second home to those of us who attend ULM, as well as those who currently live on campus. Being a central area on the Campus allows many students to mingle and meet new people, as well as an area to stay while waiting for another class.

Just recently, I was sitting amongst my friends in the lounge when a group of men came in and started measuring the room and walls. A simple inquiry to one revealed to my friends and I that the university has decided to possibly expand the dining area further by moving the wall further into the Commuter Lounge. This came as a rather large shock to us. After watching them measure the room, it came to be that the dining area would only be expanded 5 feet by 12 feet. This would only allow for, at most, 10 new tables in the Dining Area.

The Commuter Lounge is a loved place on the campus that is invaluable to multiple organizations. The Blood Drive operates out of our lounge when they come to campus. The Career Fair once operated there as well as the Health Fair. Then you have the groups of us that, for the most part, live there.

Those of us that use this room to its fullest have watched the dining area intently. We know that it operates at full capacity during the hours of 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the most. Our beloved lounge has students visiting during the entire time it is open during the day.

The best option here would be to add more tables in the lounge. Another would be to take out the Sushi bar across the way from the Lounge. When it opened, it did fairly well as the novelty of it was still new. Now, it has slacked in its operations and has been doing very poorly. The area would have been better with the Shulze Express but it was taken from us.

Is there any reason to move the wall itself when you can simply add tables to the lounge to invite more people to enter and meet the varied people who inhabit its walls?